


Darkness

by Balthuza



Category: Shards of the Sun
Genre: Bullying, Gen, I'm so sorry, We are not friends, hello darkness, poor baby D:, there will be hall to pay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 08:18:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9811010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Balthuza/pseuds/Balthuza
Summary: Nil is eleven and it’s the first time he was allowed to go to school on his own. It’s an odd feeling, freedom and fear in equal measures. He walks the streets and seems invisible without the family crest on them, thriving on the anonymity and excitement of the rule-breaking.





	

Nil is eleven and it’s the first time he was allowed to go to school on his own. It’s an odd feeling, freedom and fear in equal measures. He walks the streets and seems invisible without the family crest on them, thriving on the anonymity and excitement of the rule-breaking. 

He sneaks past the teachers who seem not to notice him at all, and wanders the school like he owns it (which he knows is kind of true, he heard the other children say so when they think he doesn’t listen).

There are old classrooms on the lower levels, he knows, this is where the older children are when the escape the vigilant eyes of adults watching the halls.

Nil doesn’t know what happens. One moment he is walking the stairs, the other there is shouting and laughter, and the heavy door closes behind him, leaving him alone in the darkness. 

At first he laughs it off, calls to the ones he can hear snickering outside. Then the voices go quiet and the bell rings, and Nil is so angry he will be late for the class, the teacher will tell his parents and they will never let him go alone again. Then he gets even angrier, remembering the project he spent whole weeks making with Flick, and which now lies in the bag next to him, useless. He deserves an A, he knows it, but if he gives it in late Madame will never give him a mark so high. He shouts and hits the door. The voice echoes and his hand hurts.

It’s an hour before he starts to hear sounds in the darkness. They scatter along the far end, first, then start to close in, and Nil starts to be afraid.

It’s two hours when he feels the first touch. When he tries to get rid of the thing climbing his trousers, there’s nothing there.

It’s six hours before the door open, and Steffit runs inside, Flick right behind him and Gin in the back, straight and almost vibrating when she sees his puffy eyes and nail marks on his skin. She turns around, giving him a single smile before, and walks the corridor, full of people gaping at them. They almost climb the walls to get out of her way.

Steffit holds him tight enough that it’s hard to catch a breath, but it’s not really an issue, when he doesn’t know whether to try to stop crying or to apologise more. He feels a bit better when he realises that both Steffit and Flick are crying as well. 

This night Steffit says nothing when he sees him crawling into Flick’s bed right after supper. He kisses them goodnight before Gin does the same thing and with a slight gesture makes sure the lamp will burn until dawn.

 


End file.
